A couple weeks ago, I went to Walmart and had an irritating experience with one of its customer service representatives. For those who didn't read my previous blog, I'll catch you up. This woman asked me to wait at the counter while she walked to the cookie aisle, bought Chips A'hoy!, and sat on the bench to eat them. Then she continued to eat the cookies and spit crumbs while helping me.

Granted, that was Walmart. This company has lowered the bar for many things including customer service, common sense, hiring criteria, prices, and standard of living. The problem is, I had an equally terrible customer service experience again today at a non-Walmart affiliated business. I just can't believe that people who have face-time with customers can't afford the effort to pretend being nice.

I was at a car parts store in the next town over. I usually travel to the city for my car parts, but this store shaved 20 minutes off my round trip, so I figured I'd give it a try. I walked in and the woman at the counter looked like she'd slept in an ashtray her entire life. She didn't even look up from her trashy magazine when I walked in. This was the first indicator that I may be writing another blog today.

'After I'd gotten my motor oil, I approached the counter and asked her, where can I find spark plugs? Am I just not seeing them?'

'Behind the counter,' she replied.

'Alright,' says I, 'can you hook me up with eight plugs for my truck?'

'What kind of truck?' I told her the year, make, model, and motor size of my pickup and she punched some keys on her computer before looking up at me and saying, 'Are you f**king kidding me?' Stunned, I stood there trying to determine her meaning. 'Everybody with a Ford decided to buy spark plugs today, so the best I could do is sell you premium plugs for $7.49 apiece.'

'My truck is 17 years old, ma'am. I'd like the cheapest plugs you've got. And a set of plug wires.' She punched a few more keys.

'The only wires I've got are a premium set and they're $59.'

'You're sure there are none of the cheaper wires back there on a shelf?'

'Sir, I told you what I've got in stock. If you want something else, you're s**t out of luck.'

In the end, she added some cheap plugs and wires to her order and told me I could pick them up mid-morning tomorrow. Then I remembered that I needed an oil filter as well. I asked her if she had the oil filter model guide behind the counter because I didn't find one with the filters on the shelf. You know what she told me?

'You don't want those filters. Our brand is better.'

'Ma'am, I want whatever is cheapest. I'm on a budget here.'

'Well its worth spending a little extra,' she says.

'No, it isn't. I'm planning on selling my truck and I'm just trying to get it sale-ready.'

She wanted to continue arguing about it so I grabbed the screen, turned it, and got myself the cheapest filter off the shelf. Since my plugs and wires would be in tomorrow, she agreed to hold everything until I arrive.

But still...

I've worked customer service positions from grocery stores to industrial sales to health care. I would never swear in front of a customer. I would never argue with a customer. With rude people behind counters, rotten kids working in stores, and automated telephone answering services, are the days of quality customer service behind us? Do customers still deserve to be treated with respect, or am I just being unreasonable?

Share your opinions and experiences in the comments below.